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When my little boy was born, parents would often tell me to enjoy every minute with my baby because they grow up so fast. During those long fussy nights I would remember these comments and think, “Sure wish time would move a little faster for me!” Now that my son is 18 months, I still look at him and keep saying, “When did my baby grow up?”

It is amazing to me how much my son has grown since he was born, and I totally agree that they grow way too fast. This is especially true for pre-schoolers. I’m not an early childhood specialist, but I know that the amount of information that pre-schoolers learn is astronomical. Those early years can set up your child for success. This is true when it comes to nutrition as well.

This is important information for parents to keep in mind when they are feeding their kids. It doesn’t matter if your kids stay at home or go to daycare/ school. We as parents, need to be aware that the early years are the best time to teach healthy eating habits to our little ones. If you are sending your kids to preschool or daycare, have you researched what they are feeding your child?

I read a good article on USAToday that emphasized the importance of nutrition in children’s early years. “A study of child care programs…recently found that many children learn food and nutrition attitudes and preferences in child care. Good habits, they discovered, start early.”

It should be important to us what our children are eating when they are away from us. Parents awareness and involvement in their children’s health is causing child care centers to start offering organic foods and more fresh foods instead of processed. While I agree that this is more expensive, I think most parents are willing to pay a little extra (if they can) for their child to have good eating habits even when their children are away from home.

Nearly 1 out of 4 children are overweight between the ages of 2 and 5. Before this statistic will improve, we as parents, will need to realize that good eating habits start early. Want your kid to like fruits and veggies and not just “kid food?” Make sure you are introducing a wide variety of fresh healthy foods and as always, make half their plate fruits and veggies at every meal.

If you send your kids to school/child care during the day, let me know, have you checked with the center to see if they are feeding your kid healthy foods?